Russian ice dancers should rethink their routine

Bev Manton

I've always believed that if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all. So I'll start by saying that the interest in Aboriginal culture by the two talented Russian figure skaters, Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, is both welcome and flattering.

The depiction — and protection — of the Aboriginal image on the world stage is obviously a matter of great importance to my people.

From an Aboriginal perspective, this performance is offensive. It was clearly not meant to mock Aboriginal culture, but that does not make it acceptable to Aboriginal people. There are a number of problems with the performance, not least of all the fact both skaters are wearing brown body suits to make their skin appear darker. That alone puts them on a very slippery slope.

Australians know only too well the offence that can be caused by white people trying to depict themselves as black people during performance pieces. Last year's domestic and international furore over the blackface skit on Hey, Hey it's Saturday's Red Faces is a recent case in point.

That said, I don't think it's the most offensive part of the performance. That honour belongs to some of the claims by Domnina and Shabalin that have accompanied it.

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They are not, as they state, wearing "authentic Aboriginal paint markings". They are wearing white body paint in designs they dreamed up after reading about Aboriginal Australians on the internet. The designs are no more "authentic" or "Aboriginal" than the shiploads of cheap, "Aboriginal" tourist trinkets that pour into our country from overseas.

This is not a particularly difficult concept. For art to be Australian, it must be painted by an Australian, and for art to be Australian Aboriginal, it must be painted by an Australian Aboriginal. Russian art is not painted by Italians, and I doubt Russians would be impressed if someone tried to pass it off otherwise.

And just as the designs are not Aboriginal, nor is the music to which the dance is being performed.

I acknowledge that Aboriginal people do not own the sound of the didgeridoo. That is one of our gifts to the rest of the world. Everyone is free to use it. But that does not mean it should be sampled and then presented as something it is not — traditional Aboriginal music.

The Fairfax reports have noted that the music appears to have been composed by Sheila Chandra, a Briton of Indian descent. Again, its wonderful that there is such international interest in some of the beautiful things that make us Aboriginal, such as our songs and sounds. But interest must be expressed in a way that is respectful. The ripping off of our art and songs is not, and nor is this depiction of my culture.

It's important for all Australians to understand why our dance and ceremony is so sacred — and so fiercely guarded — by Aboriginal people.

For a start, our dance, our ceremony and even how we look is the basis of much of our culture. Our designs and images have evolved over 60,000 years. We're understandably fond of them, and we don't like seeing them ripped off and painted onto someone's body for a sporting contest.

But there are also more modern reasons. For many of us, our culture is all we have left. Our land was taken from us. Many of us lost our wages and savings. Many of us lost our children. Many of us even had our ancestors remains robbed from their graves.

My people have already lost so much. Surely it's not hard to understand why we might fear a loss of control over the parts of our culture that we have managed to hold onto?

Our dance, our ceremony, our image — and, importantly, how they are depicted — are sacred to Aboriginal Australians, just as the ANZAC legend and how it is depicted is sacred to all Australians, me included.

Again, I don't think this is rocket science. Think how offended you might be if something sacred to you was co-opted by a foreign culture, and used inappropriately.

How do you think Australians would react if some Russian ice dancers dressed as Anzacs and acted out the doomed landing at Gallipoli?

I think a lot of us might find it offensive. I certainly would. I would also question the motives of the dancers, as would many of my countrymen and women.

There might, of course, be some Australians who wouldn't find that sort of performance offensive. That is their right. But to suggest that they might be in the majority is ridiculous. Most Australians would be deeply offended, just as you'll find most Aboriginal are upset by this sort of performance.

The Russians' intent may well have been as a tribute to Aboriginal culture, but you'll find relatively few Aboriginal people received it that way.

With that in mind, my understanding is that Domnina and Shabalin intend to perform this dance again in the coming weeks at the European ice skating championships. I would urge them to reconsider.

As to the suggestion that the same routine might be performed at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in a few months, I'd respectfully remind them that the Olympics has a long tradition of flying above politics, and embracing and respecting all cultures.

Domnina and Shabalin have an opportunity to help ensure that wonderful tradition is honoured by rethinking their performance.

Bev Manton is a Worimi woman from the mid-NSW North Coast. She is the chairwoman of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council.